Rinse and Repeat
by Rumo Stuff
Summary: Sometimes she shot at the masks. Occasionally she even hurt them. But the rest of the time it was running until they could hide, or hiding until they could run. That was Sae's and her kid brother's lives in a nutshell, until the appearance of a Shinigami meant maybe it didn't have to be like this until the very end. Hisagi/OC
1. Chapter 1

A/n: Long story short, I was rereading some Bleach and got a burst of inspiration for some Hisagi. I wasn't going to post it, but I like what I have so far, so why not? It's a pretty self-contained story. Small cast, no giant battles. Preemptive apologies for any mistakes I make that goes against canon.

Warning: Violence, a whole lot of swearing, implications. Might change ratings later, depending on the direction I take. Also, long chapters. I want to keep the chapter count down.

* * *

Rinse and Repeat  
Chapter 1

The fucker was short, but he was heavy—not just with fat, but some muscle too—and kicked around enough that Sae had to yell for Hiromu to open the door. She didn't want her hands off his collar. The door was locked with three bolts, but Hiromu got them open, then ducked aside just as Sae hurled the shit onto the asphalt.

"You fucking bitch," he slurred against the ground. "You fucking bitch." He began to pick himself up, but Sae slammed a foot onto his fingers, and he screeched. He screeched again when she kept pressing, until finally there was a wet crunch. She kicked him in the head to stop his howling. It did its work. His head rolled to the side, and he went limp, still breathing, but not much else. Sae leaned over and gave him a quick pat down. A wallet in his left pocket, a Rolex, and a neck chain that looked like gold, but weighed like imitation. Nice family picture. Kid was cute. She took the Rolex, and the money in the wallet, then spat on his face and tossed everything else.

"He's out," she called.

Hiromu shuffled out of the safe house, the duffel bag beside him, so full it was nearly half his size. He had to drag it out by the straps. "I got everything. I think."

"The ammo?"

"I put them in first. Is he dead?" He was peering at the man on the ground.

"Eh."

"Sae!"

"Aw get off my back, little man. He's not dead. Can't you see he's breathing? He'll be fine. Just call the hospital once we're out of here. _Once we're out of here._ " She slung the duffel bag over her shoulder, then held out a hand. Hiromu pulled her cap out of his pocket and handed it to her. She put the cap on, lowering the brim and arranging her bangs so it obscured her face. "Can you still make out the blood?"

Hiromu shook her head, then took her hand as they began to walk towards the dock exits. "Not unless you really look, I guess. But we're out of stitches stuff."

"What, I need stitches?"

"Mmhm."

"Huh." She touched her split lip, then the slash under her right eye, and over her forehead, which was still bleeding. "Doesn't feel like it. I mean, it doesn't really hurt."

"Well you do," Hiromu retorted, looking sullen.

Sae closed her eyes, then opened them again, blinking. Come to think of it, she _was_ starting to get light-headed. And it wasn't the kind of light-headed she could just—concentrate away either. Gripping Hiromu's hand, she pulled him into a jog. "We need to get to a crowd or something. Come on."

They ran until the dock entrance was just up ahead, then slowed to a power walk. Sae was too nauseous for anything more. The dock surrounding them was little more than a fortress of shipping containers. Miles and miles of them, all the same silhouette black at night, massive and silent. Could be hiding anything behind them. The fuck was Tokyo good for if it every inch of it wasn't covered with people? And okay, at nine p.m. the docks would be empty. The fat man—Takeshi, or Tadashi or something—wouldn't have chosen it otherwise, and a guy like him? Some kind of yakuza lieutenant, skimming supplies to sell on side, his crazy ass boss be damned? So she got it. But that didn't make it any better. Had she known sooner just how deserted this place was, she—shit, she still would've taken the deal. They were selling ammo. She needed that ammo. They wouldn't last a week without that ammo.

"Sae, you're walking crooked."

"Don't kid me. I'm walking plenty straight."

So the deal had gone sour. That was okay. They'd gotten what they came for, and then some. Almost seven hundred rounds, and it'd cost her nothing. And Hiromu was hung up on stitches? She'd lose an eye for a deal this good. More than an eye. If they can make it to a main street alive, then they'll celebrate. Ice cream, or sushi, or a nice bento. They hadn't eaten out in ages. It'll be great.

Hiromu's hand tightened around hers. "Hey, Sae?"

"Yeah?"

"There aren't any ghosts around."

Sae looked at Hiromu, then at their surroundings, although there wasn't a point in it. She couldn't see ghosts herself. "Were there any when we first came?"

"Yeah. There were a lot."

"And now? Nothing at all?" Hiromu shook his head. Shit. She unzipped her coat, pulled the gun out of its holster, and snapped the safety switch off. "Get some clips out of the bag. You couldn't have mentioned this earlier?"

"I don't know—"

"Stop talking. Don't breathe too loudly. Eyes open."

Hiromu fell silent, but it was still too loud. Breathing, footsteps, the rustle of clothes, clinking metal. It was all she could hear. She swallowed the bile in her throat, sucked her breath in through her nose. Hiromu handed her the clips, which she shoved into her pocket. They continued walking, but finally the silence was joined by the rumble of footsteps that started out soft, but heavy, only to grow louder with incredible speed. Sae grabbed Hiromu and ducked behind the nearest container. Not that that was any protection against giant-ass fuckers like them, but sometimes it confused the dumber ones, who hesitated when they didn't see what they were expecting to see. She racked the slide on her gun.

The mask appeared by shattering the pile of containers barely thirty feet to their right. Sae threw Hiromu to the ground and huddled over him as containers collapsed around them. The container they were hiding behind held, but no sooner after the last of them clattered to the ground, the mask shrieked out a roar and swept another pile to the ground. The ringing of metal was so loud her head felt like it was going to split. The fuck was this? When the fuck were these freaks strong enough to bowl entire ship containers apart? Sae grabbed Hiromu and threw them both out of the way just as the stack of containers behind them crumpled.

"Kid!" Sae yelled over the noise. He was right next to her, but he didn't seem like he heard her. "Hey, kid! Hiromu!" She rolled him over, and recoiled when she saw the blood welling on his right temple. She checked his pulse, then his eyes. Concussion, out like a light. Slinging him over her shoulder, she wormed her way past the fallen containers, stumbling into a clearing just as the mask crash landed in front of them, a pitch black, two story high monstrosity with its skull mask warped into fangs and its head bowed, like a primate. Holy fucking shit. They made them that big? She'd never seen one that big.

Content that it'd found its prey, the mask approached them slowly, head tilted as Sae instinctively raised the gun. Each footstep shook the ground. Fuck the gun. It wasn't going to do jackshit. Sae scanned around for something to hide behind, something she could run to. It didn't look that smart. She could usually tell when they're smart. Maybe they could lose it. Get out of its line of sight, then hit it when it was confused. She tried to blink the blood out of her eyes, then wiped it off with her sleeve. There weren't any containers nearby. Just the ones right behind the mask, which would take them even further from the entrance.

Its paw came down, and she threw herself out of its range, barely, but the debris that shattered from the impact sent her tumbling to the ground. She scrambled up, then shot at the paw, emptying the entire clip, the size of the paw making it an easy hit even with her eyesight out-of-focus. The mask shrieked again, and Sae grabbed Hiromu, who'd fallen out of her arms, and sprinted towards the containers behind the mask. She ducked behind them just as the mask swerved its massive body around. It didn't attack, just stood there, making low wheezing noises that sounded like thousands of voices in agony, all crying in unison. It didn't expect to lose sight of them, Sae realized. It _was_ a stupid one. But it could still sense Hiromu, which meant it wasn't going to just up and leave. And now it was between them and the entrance.

Breathing heavily, Sae sank to the ground. She shook her head in an attempt to clear it, but it made her headache worse, and her vision worse. The cold hard ground felt kind of nice—she was that tired—and now that she'd sat down, she couldn't even begin to stand up again. Shit, shit, shit. She smacked her palm against her forehead. Like fuck you, bitch. Maybe if you were alone you could do whatever you wanted, but your kid brother? He was already a poor kid, and he'll only get poorer if he got this kind of ending. Poor kid, poor Hiromu, no childhood, no adulthood, only some quasi-limbo where he lived between the ends of each day. Reaching into her pocket, Sae began to reload the gun. The mask had begun moving again, slowly, its shadow already starting to loom over them. Sae pushed herself back to her feet just as Hiromu began to stir. Jesus, small mercies.

"Hiromu." She set him down, shaking his shoulders, then patting him on the cheek. He blinked at her blearily. "Hiromu. You listening, buddy?"

He tried to nod, but his head fell limply with each sway. Must be hurting like a bitch. Sae stood him up and held him in place, wiping the blood from his forehead with her thumb as he struggled to reorient himself.

"You're going to run," she told him. "You're going to run to the—the—to the entrance. And not look back. The monster's going to chase you, and don't worry about that monster. It's big, but it's slow. Can you do that?"

"Yeah," Hiromu said faintly. "Yeah. What about—"

"I'll be right behind you. Just don't look back. Just keep running. Come on."

The monster was right in front of them. Sae shoved Hiromu out of the protection of the container, then stepped out after him. The mask ignored her in favor of Hiromu, who was stumble-sprinting towards the exit. Good kid. Always fast, even on those little adolescent legs. Just as the mask began to raise its paw, Sae shot another six round into it. The bullets were like rain drops compared to the size of that thing, but it must've hurt, because the shock of the pain of the made it howl and jerk back, almost losing its balance as it used its other paw to clutch at its injury. Dumb bastard. She ran past it as it struggled to balance itself on its hind legs.

"Kid!" Sae yelled, and for a moment, Hiromu stopped to look at her, but she made a shooing gesture, telling him to keep on going. She caught up to him quickly, but the mask had already reoriented itself, and was starting to head in their direction, its pace only slightly hindered by the fallen containers in its way. "You think you can do that thing?"

"I can't—running."

"I'll carry you. You just concentrate on getting that bastard off our backs, alright?"

Hiromu nodded, his breath already slowing in anticipation of enormous stress. Poor kid. She didn't want it to come to this. "Alright."

"Good man." She held out a hand, and when Hiromu took it, she threw him over her shoulder again.

It all came together at once. Hiromu's breath stopped, just as she slid behind another container, just as the mask burst into view, its path finally clear of debris and junk. As Hiromu stilled himself, Sae could feel the very air shift around them, canceling, destroying, rearranging. The mask, sensing the same change, stood there incredulously, its enormous head swinging left and right in its effort to locate its lost prey. It was like it was suddenly blinded. She peered at it from the edge of the container. With Hiromu half-concussed, they had, what, three minutes? Four at most. Straining to keep her step light, but quick, she padded towards the dock entrance, and finally broke into a run once they were in the clear and she'd stop hearing the mask's toiling breaths.

* * *

The blood had dried and crusted. There was so much that it felt like a glue mask, cracking when Sae opened her eyes. The window blinds were shut, but there was a faint gray pink coming from it. Start of a new day. Sae sat up, rubbing her face as she tried to locate the actual cuts under the blood. Her head was killing her. She probably didn't look any better either. After taking a few painkillers, she stepped into the bathroom and turned on the lights. The reflection she saw in the mirror—ergh. Yeah, Hiromu was definitely going to to be buying their things for a while. Wetting a towel in the sink, Sae traced the chunks of blood coating her face, and then the splotchy, veiny purple that had bloomed underneath. This was all concentrated on the right side of her face, so the left side was fairly normal looking, which was better than nothing, but still fucking _weird_. She was like that Jekyll guy, or Two-Face or something.

Most of the blood came off easily, but as she went near her forehead, she broke off a chunk that'd been covering a laceration.

"Shit."

She grabbed a dry towel and pressed it against the cut as fresh blood began to spill out. Well that must've been the one Hiromu said needed stitches, which they didn't have, and even if they did, she couldn't do it herself and Hiromu wasn't going to be up anytime too soon. _But_ what they did have was bandages and disinfectant. After cleaning the rest of her face, exposing more cuts in the process, Sae swabbed everything clean, and plugged the worst of the cuts with heavy bandages. She left the smaller cuts alone, but by the time she was finished, half her face was plastered with stuff. She had to work to make a gap her right eye could see out of.

"Still gorgeous," she said to the reflection in the mirror. "Still the most gorgeous motherfucker that I—wouldn't fuck." She laughed quietly to herself, then threw the bloody towels into the bathtub, which she'd filled with hot water. Didn't want the motel staff to think she killed someone.

Hiromu was still asleep on the other bed. Sae sat down next to him with water and a fresh roll of bandages. She'd patched up his head last night, but it was a shitty job she did—not her fault, she'd been dying too—so this time she took it slow and careful. Got rid of the old bandages, washed the cut, disinfected it, then wrapped it with a gentle tightness that she hoped wasn't too tight. Kid was going to have a hell of a headache when he woke up.

The room smelled stale, so Sae tossed another blanket over Hiromu and pried open the windows. The morning air felt good. Smelled pretty good for a city too, all stinging and fresh, unlike that nasty smoke sewer-fest in Beijing. Sae contemplated having a smoke. She promised Hiromu she was going to quit, but—oh what the hell, she deserved it. And he's asleep. He'll never know.

Halfway through her cigarette, as she leaned against the window, taking in what view a first floor room could offer—a bunch of walls and wires, and trains, passing in backdrop of a slowly bluing sky—Sae looked up and thought she saw something perched on top of an antenna pole. _Thought_ , because it was gone when she looked again. Another mask? But nothing came, although on most mornings there was at least one of those bozos lurking around, thinking they were easy prey because they were asleep. Well she can go from REM sleep to insta-alert in like five seconds, so joke's on them. Sae frowned. They were never the kind of freak she saw last night though. Most were barely twice her size. Not even a little bullet-proof. Pretty easy to hurt overall. The thing from yesterday? _That_ was a freak. They couldn't afford to run into one of those ever again. Not alone, not even with ten thousand—a _hundred_ thousand people around. Fucking hell.

After buying a couple beers from the lobby, Sae flipped the TV to some chick flick, then started sorting through the ammunitions they'd gotten yesterday. It'll last them a good while, especially if they kept to crowds and stayed alert, so they can hear the masks coming. Run, instead of fight and shoot. After cataloguing everything, she finished the movie, watched another, and then did the laundry, using pretty much all the soap they had on hand, including the extra bars the motel kept in the cabinet, to get the blood out of the fabric. She shouldn't have had that first cigarette. Now she was smoking like a train wreck.

It was mid-afternoon when the phone rang. Hiromu shifted, then rolled around, pawing blearily at the phone in an attempt to answer it. .

"Looks who's up." Sae ruffled his hair as she sat down next to him. She picked up the phone. "Hello?"

It was the receptionist. They'd missed the checkout time, which had been at noon. Oops.

"Would you like to extend to tomorrow, Ma'am?"

Sae glanced at the clothes she'd hung up, still wet, waiting to dry. "Yeah, I'll extend till tomorrow. I'll come down to pay. Okay. Yeah, okay. Thanks." She hung up the phone.

"Are we moving," Hiromu mumbled.

"Go back to sleep. We'll leave tomorrow." She grabbed her cap, hiding her bandaged forehead under it, and then her wallet. "I'll be back in a minute. Going to extend our stay date."

That was the nice thing about Japan, their—discretion. At the very least, the receptionist didn't say boo to her, even though he kept staring at her bandages while pretending they didn't exist. Like dude, stare all you want. She ain't charging. Besides, if it wasn't bandages, it'd be something else: her super height, or her clothes, which looked safari, or the fact that you could look at her and not quite tell which side of the gender binary she was on. That last one was always bull, she thought, because she had a _braid_ , but then again she'd seen a lot weirder shit than braids on Japanese guys' heads, so okay.

Hiromu was up when she came back. Up and already nose-deep in his new science textbook. Man, to have smarts. It was a cute sight, always made Sae want to smile. Then she noticed the mess he'd made of his backpack. He must've dug through his backpack in order to find the textbook. Fucking hell, kid.

"Hiromu," she said sharply. Hiromu's head darted up. Then he looked down at the books scattered around him. He seemed to realize his mistake before she even had to say anything. She swiped the nearest book away anyway, a math book, causing Hiromu to scramble up.

"Give it here, Sae," he said quickly. "I know I shouldn't have left it. I just forgot."

"Well clearly if you forgot, it's not worth much to you to begin with." She tossed the book onto her own bed, then sat down. "I know I don't have to say this again, but—"

"You don't have to! I know!" Hiromu was already stuffing the rest of his books into his backpack. "I know."

"What do you know?"

"We won't have time to pack if a mask comes. We'd just have to leave with what we have. So we have to keep everything in our bags. I won't do it again. I mean it."

"You say that every time," Sae said under her breath. Nonetheless, she tossed the book back to Hiromu, who quickly put it back in with the rest of his books.

"I'm sorry, Sae."

"Don't apologize to me. I'm not the one losing anything. It's not my problem. Course, that also means I don't have to waste money replacing it, but you know. I'm sure you won't miss it."

Knowing better than to protest, Hiromu silently zipped up his backpack and sat with it huddled against his chest. He'd even put away his science book. He looked miserable. Sae already felt sorry for raising her voice. He'd had a tough night, plus he saved their asses. Could she really blame him for slipping a little? She'll make up in a bit. She still wanted him to stew a little on his mistakes. Of course Hiromu loved his books. He'd never forget them intentionally. But it's those unintentional moments that counted the most, so he just—needed to know how to reduce those. They couldn't afford mistakes.

Sae waited until the laundry was dried. Then, after she'd packed them all up, she gave Hiromu a little pat on the head. He brightened up after that, and even began reading again, like it was safe for him to do so. Sae turned on the TV again, flipping through the channels as Hiromu occasionally read out loud some interesting fact from the textbook, cellular membranes or platypus fangs or whatever. It was kind of pleasant. She could stay like this for a long time, forever, even. She was half-asleep when she heard Hiromu's stomach growl. Neither of them had eaten since breakfast yesterday.

"Alright, come on kid." She stifled a yawn as she got up. "We did good yesterday. We deserve better than instant crap. What do you want? Sushi? Ramen?"

"Crepes," Hiromu said immediately.

"We'll get that too, but that's dessert food. Think of a main course first. And remind me to get some medical kits on the way."

She hoisted her backpack and duffle back onto her shoulders, then waited for Hiromu to put on his coat before hopping out of the window. She lifted Hiromu through, then shut the window, leaving just enough of a crack that she could pry it open from outside. She never liked going through the motel lobby—her face was seen enough as it was.

It was great. The food was great, the drinks were great. If Sae wasn't on a permanent sober policy—because fighting masks when drunk? She wasn't that stupid—she'd be downing the sake a bottle at a time. They'd ended up in a sushi place that was always crowded when they passed it, but it wasn't so bad at four in the afternoon. _And_ they had crepes on the dessert menu. The whole meal cost almost twenty thousand yen, but it was twenty thousand yen they could afford, thanks to those dumbass yakuza keeping ten thousands in their wallets like she kept tissue paper when on a cold. By the time they left, Hiromu looked the happiest she'd seen him in a while. He didn't even mind holding Sae's hand, even though he was getting to that age where it apparently wasn't cool to hold onto your sister's hand in public.

"Hey Sae, guess what grade I'm on."

"Kid, I buy your books. Don't even try that shit on me."

"They don't say what grade they are. I just give them to you and you pay for them at the counter."

Sae shrugged, unable to deny that. It wasn't like she gave a rat's ass what her brother read, as long as it wasn't porno erotica. "Fine, I'll bite. How about, uh, college."

Hiromu tugged her arm indignantly. "Not _that_ high."

"Hey, I could've said second grade, so be grateful. Eighth grade."

"Higher."

"Seriously? Fuck. Ninth grade."

"Ninth grade geometry," Hiromu confirmed, looking so proud he was liable to burst. "I just started. Remember the blue and white book you bought me last week?"

"Oh, that ugly piece a shit. With the neon yellow title?" Catching his flat look, Sae put up a smile. "Kidding! Just kidding. Anyway, damn. A ten year old doing fourteen year old work, without going to school. I was totally right."

"Right about what?"

"You're adopted. We're not related. Sorry kid."

"I'm not adopted," he said, laughing. Man, he looked so happy. It was great. They should go out more often. Sae could make it work, if she finagled with their finances a little.

They were almost back to their motel. Home sweet home, for another twenty four hours. God, what Sae wouldn't give for something a little more permanent. She thought, when they'd first started out, that she'd be used to a nomad's life by now. But she wasn't the kind of person who could get used to just anything, especially a cold life. This was a cold life, a bunch of shady motels and convenience store food, never getting to wake up to something familiar. Except for the kid.

Then the shadow blocked out the sun, and Sae looked up.

It was the mask from last night, its body spread out so that even the tilt of the afternoon sun couldn't shine past its limbs. And it was in the air, flying, floating. Standing in the middle of a crossroad, surrounded by teeming amounts of people as the lights flickered red and green, Sae couldn't bring herself to move. Because she'd thought with so many people around, they were safe. She knew it wasn't logical—they were paper dolls, even if they couldn't see the mask—but it was instinctive, and she'd let her guard down, and they needed to run.

"Go." She gave Hiromu's arm a harsh tug. "GO."

They ran off, the roar of the mask following them as it gave chase. Sae stayed ahead, because she was strong enough to shove aside anyone in her way. And she did, pushing aside students, businessmen, elderly, as they sprinted out of the crossroad and into the side roads. The amount of people did nothing to deter the mask. It tracked them with a single-minded accuracy that seemed to know exactly which step they were going to take next, and which little boy out of all the boys on the street was its favored target. This mask was some kind of tracker, Sae realized, horrified. Its senses were accurate, and long-ranged. Even after losing them yesterday, it'd searched the area until it found them again. What kind of determination was that, from something dumber than an animal? It wasn't interested in these people. All it wanted was Hiromu. The people around them were in the way. She couldn't run right with them around.

"Get the gun out of my bag, kid! Can you do that thing again?" Sae yelled over her shoulder. "Can you make it lose us?

"I don't know. I can try, but I don't know!"

Once Hiromu handed her a loaded gun, Sae took a sharp turn into a dead end alley. It was a residential district, which meant low roofs, maybe navigable enough. She threw her backpack behind the dumpster, then the duffle bag after she'd filled her pockets with as many clips as possible.

"Toss your backpack. We'll get it later."

She stuffed her gun into her pocket, and once Hiromu had tossed his backpack and climbed onto her back, she leapt up, catching the edge of the fire escape by her fingertips. She scrambled up the ladder, making it to the rooftop just as the mask materialized overhead, its pasty white head following their movement.

"Time to work your magic, kid. Like now!"

"I can only _try_ ," Hiromu protested.

"Then try it!"

So he did. He clutched her neck tighter, then stopped his breath again. But the shift that usually came with his concentration wasn't there. Sae said shit under her breath as she began to run. Give it time. He'll pull through. He always pulled through, never mind that he never did this more than once a week. It was too draining.

She recognized this portion of the city. She'd studied it through maps and satellite pictures. And like what they said, the roofs were tightly clustered together, evenly scaled. She jumped over the cracks without having to stop, running all the faster now that she'd ditched their baggage. As the mask drew closer, she turned back and shot at it, aiming for the face, the eyes, the chest. And she hurt it—it screamed in pain—but it hurled onward. It wouldn't stop. She wasn't getting anything from Hiromu. It was so close. A little more and it could just drop itself on them, and they wouldn't be able to dodge.

"Hiromu!" she yelled. She could barely hear herself over the blood rushing through her head. "Still nothing?! Nothing at all?!"

"I'm trying," Hiromu repeated desperately. He sounded like he was about to cry. "I'm trying. I'm trying."

"Just keep on trying! If you keep at it, something will—holy fuck!" Sae skidded to a halt in front of a building edge, which was located on a slope that took the ground far lower than what she would survive, had she fallen. The next building was too far off for her to jump to. She whirled back. The mask was on them. It was already here. She began to raise her gun, but then lowered it halfway. This wasn't going to do anything.

"Hiromu," she said, and when he didn't reply—he was still holding his breath—she slid him off her back and forced him to face her. "Stop it," she said sharply. "No more trying. No more of—look, you have to listen to me. Are you listening to me?"

Hiromu nodded numbly.

"You're listening?" She shook his shoulders roughly. "Okay good. Look. We're going to—jump off this building. You'll be fine. I'll take the impact. I'm tall enough for it, and it's not that high, and if I aim right— _listen to me._ " Her voice rose to a shout as he began to cry. "You get up the second you're on the ground and you run. You find a place where the mask can't reach you, somewhere underground, anywhere that takes _effort_ to reach. You run until you can do that disappearing act of yours, and you do it. Okay? Do you get it?"

"No," Hiromu sobbed. "I don't want to, Sae. I don't want to."

"Well fuck you, you're doing it! Come on!" Sae grabbed Hiromu, clutching him to her chest even as he struggled to worm out of her arms, and stepped towards the building edge. Her heart was beating so fast it physically hurt. Hey, look on the bright side. Maybe she won't die. Maybe she was stronger than she thought and they'll both be okay, and it'll be okay, and—run and—god, it was now or never. She hoped it was over fast. She took a step back.

Just as she jumped, a hand seized her by shoulder and pulled. It knocked her off-kilter, nearly sending her crashing down headfirst. But another hand grabbed her, then hauled them both bodily back onto the building, keeping Sae in a standing position even as her legs began to give out from shock, and relief.

"Are you alright?" A man asked. Sae still couldn't stop staring at the ledge, so he set her down gently, until Sae was sitting and Hiromu was in her lap. Then there was the sound of metal being drawn, and then a set of strange clomping footsteps, which stopped abruptly only a couple feet away. What followed was the mask's voice raising loudly, louder than she'd ever heard. It sounded like when she shot at it, except more severe. Agony instead of just pain. Just as Sae looked up, one of the mask's paws came crashing to the floor. What the fuck? What the actual fuck? But there he was, a man dressed in a black sleeveless kimono, zipping through the air and wielding a sword that shredded through the mask's flesh like paper. Every slash he made was a hit, sending coils of blood twisting through the air. Sae lifted an arm to block the flickers that came their way, although the blood disintegrated soon after contact. The mask's howls rang through the air. It was like listening to thousands of screams at once. Then the man's sword flashed again, and the screams turned into gurgles, then stopped. By the time the man sheathed his sword, the mask's body had disintegrated. There was nothing left of it.

The man took a second to regard empty air with a steady frown. Then he returned to ground level and began to walk towards them. Sae almost wanted to raise her gun again, if only because the kind of power he'd just used was so insane she didn't want it near them. But she didn't. He didn't seem like he meant harm, not yet. He knelt down next to them, then repeated, "Are you alright? Are you hurt?"

Sae opened her mouth. "I—yeah. I think so. I'm fine. Hey," she said to Hiromu, who had his head buried in her lap. "Hiromu? You hanging in there?"

For a moment, Hiromu was silent. Then he began emitting a small whimper, which devolved into a moan, and then finally sobs that wracked his entire body.

"Oh give me a break." Sae rubbed his back. "We're all good now, kid. We're—we're good," she repeated with some disbelief. It just hit her. They were alive. Shaking off the urge to kiss something—the ground, or the man—she continued. "What's the point in crying _after_ everything's said and done?"

The man watched Hiromu with raised eyebrows. "That's a fairly common reaction, I'd say."

"I know, I know. I just—he doesn't cry much, so I don't know what the fuck I should do when he does."

"Let him. Crying isn't bad. He'll feel better once he's exhausted himself."

"Yeah, I guess I will." Sae stared at Hiromu a moment longer before turning to the man in the kimono. "I—don't know what to say to you other. Except, you know, thank you. You saved our asses back there."

The man smiled, and declined his head. Strange looking guy: scars, tats, chokers and armbands; sharp eyes too, defaulted to a glare that could kill. But when he spoke, what came out was a low gentleness that sounded innate. "I'm glad I did. You would've died an unnecessary death otherwise. Though in your circumstances, I can't blame you."

Sae shrugged half-heartedly. "Desperate times."

"It was incredibly brave of you. The boy's your—son? Brother?"

"Brother. Can't blame you for the mistake though. We've got a pretty big age gap between us."

"How much?"

"Fifteen years."

"I see," he said politely. He didn't look impressed. Then suddenly he did. "Actually, that's actually quite a few years in living terms, isn't it? Sorry, got mixed up with our lifespans. Afterlife spans," he added awkwardly, as if fully aware that he'd was making no sense. As if to compensate, he lowered his head in a small bow. "Hisagi Shuuhei. It's good to meet you."

"Saeko," said Sae. "Hijibe Saeko. The little cretin down there is Hiromu." Hiromu was still crying, although he seemed like he was starting to tire. His sobs were quieter. "So you're one of those—ghosts. No, you can't be. Hiromu says all the ghosts get the fuck outta town once one of those masks come along."

"I'm a Shinigami. So yes, like a ghost to the extent that we're both the essence of souls that have passed into the afterlife. But the details are finer than that." He raised his head to gaze at the sun, which was falling in the horizon. "I don't know how if you're up for an explanation this long. Maybe we can continue this tomorrow, or at least after you've rested. I'll take you to where you're staying."

Sae followed his gaze reluctantly. She wanted to hear what he had to say—this shit was big—but he was right. Hiromu needed to rest, and so did she. "You're offering to fly us over then?"

"If you'd like," Hisagi said.

"I was kidding."

"The offer's still there. In fact, I insist. It'll be faster, and I do know how to conceal our presence from pedestrians, if that's what you're worried about."

Sae looked at him, her smile fading. "You're serious. You're going to fly us."

Hisagi stood up. "I don't see why not."


	2. Chapter 2

A/n: Oh what was that about finishing this story nice and quick? The even bigger tragedy is that I already had this chapter typed up for months but couldn't bring myself to edit it until now. We'll see how it goes from here, but consider this chapter a result of my moral outrage over Hisagi's absence in the manga. Thanks to everyone who reviewed the first chapter!

* * *

Chapter 2

After Sae had laid Hiromu onto his bed—he'd fallen asleep—Hisagi handed her the duffle bag and backpacks. She'd had Hisagi take them to the alley where she'd dumped their shit, in order to retrieve them. As Sae set the bags down, Hisagi gave the room a brief scan. He looked pretty incongruous standing there, kimono and sword against the room's bland modern furniture.

"Do you stay in inns often?"

Sae sat down on her bed with a groan. _Long_ _day_. "More like nothing _but_ inns and motels. We don't have an apartment. We never stay anywhere longer than a week. Gotta have somewhere we can ditch at a moment's notice."

"Because of the hollows?"

"Is that what you call those mask—things?" She slid her hands into her pockets. "Then yeah, because of the hollows. They come, we run. Sometimes I shoot at them. Rinse and repeat."

"How long has this been going on?" Hisagi asked, then amended, "I'm sorry. I should let you rest."

"Don't worry about it. I should sleep, but not sure if I can. I mean, you're some kind of death reaper, aren't you? A Shinigami?" She took off her hat. Her bandage was starting to feel itchy. Should change it. "There's a lot I want to ask you too.

Hisagi didn't reply to that. His silence made Sae wonder just how much help she could extract from him. Was he part of some kind of an organization? Couldn't be very high-ranking, if he was out doing legwork, so what _was_ he authorized to do? Because this guy was some kind of a reaper. And what she wanted from him was a very great amount: help for Hiromu, a way to stop the masks or Hollows from tracking them, some way to defeat them, or sense them coming from afar. She had questions she wanted answered. Why had they never met another Shinigami before? Why did those monsters chase them specifically? What exactly was it that Hiromu did whenever he "concealed" his presence? Even Hiromu himself didn't know, only that it was like he was suppressing something into his body that he usually let flow freely. It wasn't air. The breath holding was more of a psychological association. Made it easier for him to hold back the actual—whatever he was holding back.

When Hisagi spoke again, he gestured towards the bandages on her face. "Are those injuries recent?"

"Huh? Oh, they were from yesterday. Still need to stitch one of them up."

"Could I help you with them?"

"I don't know. You know how to stitch faces?"

"No, but if it's just mild cuts or lacerations, I can probably mend it with a kaido. A healing incantation."

Sae was incredulous. "You have _healing_ spells?"

Hisagi shrugged modestly. "I don't specialize in healing kido, but I learned the basics. It should be enough." He sat down next to her, his shoulder next to hers. "Can you remove your bandages?"

Sae was about to ask him to tend to Hiromu first, but on second thought, she wanted to make sure the spell wouldn't have any weird side effects. Hisagi probably didn't treat living humans much. A little healing spell may end up killing her. So she slowly peeled the bandages off, dropping them in a little pile on the bed. Hisagi tried to suppress a grimace; must not be a beautiful sight.

"It was a rough night, okay?"

"I believe you." Hisagi rubbed his palms together, his brows crinkling. "I'm sure I can manage this."

"No pressure. If you could even just accelerate the healing process, that's be great."

He began to lift his hands. "I'll do my best. And sorry," he mumbled, before pressing his hands against her face. Sae tried to relax, tried not to stiffen her shoulders. He tilted her chin with one hand, and then carefully pressed his palm against her injured cheek. It was a warm, rough palm. Then she felt it grow warmer, and then hot—not a burning hot, but the kind of hot where you were cold and finally stepped out into the sun. The whole thing was finished in about a minute. Hisagi removed his hands, exhaling in relief. Sae rubbed her face, then rubbed it again. There was still the blood to clean off, but there was nothing underneath it. The stinging was gone, the rawness was gone.

"Everything alright?" Hisagi asked anxiously.

"Yeah, it's—great. It's all gone." Sae ran her hand over her face one more time. "Holy shit."

"Why don't you wash your face? I can see if there's any residue once all that blood's out of the way."

There was no residue to clean up. Even the bruising was gone, although if she looked very closely she could see the faint pale outline of a scar where the deepest laceration had been. She washed her face and neck, then rebraided her hair, making sure to get all the excess fringes out of her face. When she stepped out, Hisagi was standing over Hiromu, his hand against Hiromu's temple. She returned her hands to her pockets and waited until he was done before purposefully clicking the bathroom door shut. Hisagi gave a start, then stood up, like he was caught doing something criminal.

"Hi. I was just—I thought while I was waiting I'd take a look at your brother's head. He seems fine now."

Sae put on a smile. "Sure. Thanks." She walked over and gave Hiromu's head a brief scan. Healed, just like her. "The gift that keeps on giving, aren't you?"

"You're overstating it. It's nothing." He turned to her, his eyes searching her face. "You, um, you look good."

"A step up from ten minutes ago, for sure." She tucked her bangs out of the way and said in an apologetic way, "Listen, I don't want to be an ass and kick you out once you've helped us and all, but you think we can call it a night? I'm not sure how much longer I can stay awake. I'm pretty wiped out. And I'd like Hiromu awake when we talk too."

"Of course. Take all the time you need. I'd also like to take the time to patrol the area. The concentration of Hollows here is—worrisome. I'm not sure what the Shinigami stationed here are doing." The crease between his eyebrows deepened, the briefly smoothed up again when he gave her a smile, one meant to reassure her. "I'll be back tomorrow morning. Don't worry about being attacked tonight. I'll take care to eliminate all the Hollow in the vicinity."

"Thanks. I really appreciate what you're doing for us."

Hisagi left through the window, disappearing the second he dove into the night sky. Sae waited a few seconds, until he was definitely gone, then dropped her smile and exhaled, rubbing her forehead tiredly.

"Hey Hiromu. Wake up. I need to talk to you."

When Hiromu opened his eyes, it was kind of funny to watch his face cycle through expressions: panic, because she never woke him up for no reason, then relief when he realized it was all good, and then sullen, probably because about that little moment on the rooftop. He gave Sae a miserable look, then turned away, all prepped and ready to give her the cold shoulder.

"Oh grow up. You can be pissed after we're done talking. Anyway, you know that Shinigami that saved us? Hisagi?"

Hiromu hesitated, then grudgingly shrugged his yes. His eyes were swollen from crying. He could barely keep them open. Poor kid. She'll let him sleep soon.

"He's going to be coming over tomorrow, to explain shit to us. Maybe we'll finally be getting some answers. You know, to help you out." She gave Hiromu a little nudge on the cheek. It seemed to soften him up, just a little. "But I want you to stay quiet while we're talking. Like, completely mute. Any questions you have for him, you whisper them to me first. Can you do that?"

"Why?"

"There're just things about us that I don't want him to know. At least not until we get to know him more first."

"You think he's going to hurt us?"

"I just want to see if we can trust him. See if he's hiding anything that might hurt us. I'm not saying he wants to. I'm saying he _might._ "

Unconvinced, Hiromu insisted, "He seems nice."

Sae snorted. "What, just because he vouched for you when you were getting snot all over my lap? Raise your standards, you brat." She shook her head. "Now I don't want to sound ungrateful. He does seem like a sweet guy, and he did save us. But how am I supposed to know if that is what he is? Just because he hasn't maimed us yet, doesn't mean he doesn't want something. The way he showed up was a little too convenient. The second we were about to jump off the building, there he was. That shit can't be a coincidence. I can't believe it." When Hiromu began to look sullen again, Sae put a hand on his shoulder. "Consider it a trial period. If he passes, we'll be friends. If he doesn't—" She didn't really want to think about that. Run from some super monster-killing guy like him? Probably will have to flee the country while his back was turned. "So you'll stay quiet tomorrow?"

With some hesitation, Hiromu said "Yeah. I'll be quiet."

She ruffled his head, then stood up. "Good man. Now go back to sleep. And hey, don't worry about the masks tonight. I'm sure Hisagi will get rid of them if they come."

"You just said you don't like him."

"The hell I did. I said I didn't _trust_ him. Big difference. Besides, it'd be weird for him to go through the trouble of saving us, and then abandon us."

Sae tucked Hiromu in, then collapsed onto her own bed, her hands for once at her side, instead of under the pillow with her gun. Yeah, she didn't trust Hisagi. But it made sense for him to keep an eye out for them, at least for the night. And a part of Sae wanted to believe it for the sake of convenience. How many years had it been since she got to sleep in peace? She couldn't remember.

* * *

There was a cut on Sae's shoulders that she just noticed after she'd stepped out of the shower. It was shallow and scabbed, but pretty long. Sae thought about getting Hisagi to fix it for her, then grinned it off. Ask too many favors of him and she'd have spent all his good will before she got to what she really wanted. She stepped out of the bathroom and waved over Hiromu, who looked up from his reading. She jerked a thumb behind her.

"The water's still hot."

As Hiromu scuttered past her, Sae checked her watch—nine-thirty—then went to open the window. The calendar was still spring, but the weather had begun to turn summer warm early and the humidity was beginning to set in. It was still early though, and there was a tepid little breeze, which was nice to dry her hair in. As she waited for Hiromu to finish his shower, she perched herself on the windowsill and watched the trains go by, each one becoming less populated then the last as rush hour drew to a close. Hisagi said he'd be over in the morning. Just as Sae was beginning to wonder when he was going to show up, a backpack was thrown on top of the wall that separated the motel from the street behind it. The fuck? Then Hisagi hauled himself into view. He grabbed the backpack and hopped down, checked to make sure he hadn't dropped anything, then slung the backpack over one shoulder. Well wasn't he was being dapper today. He had his usual chokers and armbands, but he'd switched out of his black kimono in favor of a sleeveless shirt under a black leather vest, and torn black pants. It was all very tight looking, very calculated in the way it flattered his torso and hips. Like she said, damn good-looking. But on the other hand, who the hell dressed that tight, except for hookers? She smiled when Hisagi caught her eye.

"Nice entrance. Not as good as your first one yesterday, but—?"

Hisagi laughed a little as he walked over. "I'd have a hard time replicating anything I did yesterday with this body. I'm using a gigai."

"A what?"

"It's a type of body container. Normal humans can see this body. It's grounded in the material world."

"Well don't you have all the nice things?" She ran her eyes down his body. Clothes aside, it didn't look any different from his Shinigami state, although there was something less intense about it. Gut-feeling-wise, not appearance-wise. "You expecting to meet anyone today?"

"Only you and your brother. But I thought—you didn't seem very comfortable when we spoke yesterday. You seemed a bit guarded."

"Yeah?" Sae's smiled lowered fractionally. "Well I was pretty tired yesterday, so maybe I wasn't as polite as I should've been, so—"

Hisagi cut her off. "It was my fault. I should've realized that a Shinigami's power may appear overwhelming to a human. I'd also be on the edge if I were in your position. The gigai puts me on the level of a normal human. I can leave it whenever I want, but I thought that it would—" He gestured with a hand, trying to find the right words. "Give the conversation a more equal feel. Maybe put you at ease."

They stood and sat across from each other and looked at each other without speaking. Sae tapped her index finger on the window sill, unsure of whether to deny or apologize. There wasn't a point in denying it, but she wasn't sorry about it either. So instead she said, "I appreciate it."

"It was the least I can do."

"Nothing personal, you know."

"I understand. Trust is earned. I abide by that principle as much as you do. Although," he began, slowly. "I suppose that means I don't exactly trust you either."

At that, Sae felt—she felt okay with that. It was a logic she could get behind, and having it out in the open eased some of the tension in her gut. She dropped her feet back onto the carpet and stood up. "Come in. Hiromu's been wanting to meet his lord and savior."

As Hisagi stepped into the room after her, the bathroom door creaked open, letting out a cloud of steam and Hiromu, who was rubbing his hair with a towel. He saw Hisagi through his mussed up bangs, and beamed.

"Hello, Hisagi san. Sae said you'll be coming over today."

Hisagi raised a hand uncertainly. "Hiromu, right?"

"Yeah!" He ran up to them and huddled next to Sae, clearly eager to meet Hisagi but also needing Sae to boost his confidence.

"Little shit's ready to put a ring on your finger," Sae commented mildly.

Hiromu tugged her arm, mortified. "Sae!"

"I'd be honored," Hisagi said solemnly, although the corner of his mouth twitched when Hiromu turned to him, looking helpless and betrayed.

"Yeah, be honored all you want. Anything more and I'll kill you." She took Hiromu's hand and led him to the bed, sitting him down before sitting down next to him. Hisagi took off his shoes and sat down on the bed across from her, his legs folded under his thighs. It was very civilized. Sae gave Hiromu's hand a squeeze, a tacit little reminder of what they'd discussed last night.

"I imagine you have questions first," Hisagi said. "Please, go ahead."

She should've made a list, or an itinerary. There were so many things she wanted to know. At the same time she had to regulate what she said, because for all that she told Hiromu to keep his trap shut, she didn't know what she was planning to share or omit from Hisagi either. How could she, when she had no idea of knowing what he wanted out of them? Blindfolded and stepping on a minefield was about as safe as this. Basics sounded like a good idea, questions that'd been hounding her for years.

"Why do those things chase us?" Sae said. "Those masked monster things. You called them something."

"Hollows. Corrupted souls who've lingered too long in the living world after death. Only souls with extreme attachment to the material world—some sort of regret or wish, for example—remain after death. Most pass on to Soul Society without much trouble. But the ones who stay—the longer they remain in this world, the more their humanity is eroded. Once the process is complete, the soul turns into a Hollow. They're mindless creatures for the most part, driven by a need to devour other souls. So Hiromu—"

Sae's grip tightened. "They eat souls?"

"Yes. The material body can be damaged in the process, but it's not what they feed on. Specifically, they're attracted to the spiritual energy that souls possess. We call that energy reiatsu. All souls emit reiatsu, similar to how a human body takes in and processes energy, but the amount that each soul produces vary from person to person. The more reiatsu a soul has, the more attractive they are to Hollows, as targets." Hisagi directed his gaze to Hiromu. "Your brother's soul produces an immense amount of reiatsu, far beyond what a normal human soul contains. Any Hollow that he comes into proximity to would want to prey on him."

Hiromu started opening his mouth, but Sae elbowed his arm. "So long story short, Hiromu smells nutritious to these Hollows and they all want to get in on the kill. Yeah," she said, scowling. What the fuck those freaks think her brother was? Filet mignon? And it wasn't even his meat they were gunning for. It was his soul. His goddamn soul. Son of a bitch. "Yeah, that makes sense. It's always been Hiromu who was the target. If we split up, they follow him. If we're in a crowd, they pick him out." She glanced at Hiromu, whose shoulders were slumped. He was biting his lips. Ugh, not this again. She wrapped a hand around his shoulder and patted it. "It's alright, kid. I'm not blaming you for anything," she said boredly. "Nothing's your fault. It's all good. Etcetera, etcetera. Don't cry. You're gonna wake up with sore eyes again. He's always like this," she told Hisagi. "Not the crying part. The guilt complex. Pretty unhealthy thing to have when you're ten years old. Which is _why_ he should stop tormenting himself. Like come on, kid, you're staying my charity case no matter what, so accept your fate and move on. Also, didn't peg you as the type who liked to watch little kids cry, Hisagi."

Ducking to hide a smile, Hisagi said "Sorry, just was reminded of something. Don't be so hard on him. It's difficult having to watch his sister go through what you go through every day, especially for his sake."

"I'm not being hard."

"You're being a little hard."

"Just because he's made out of jello, practically. Anything's hard next to jello." Sae gave Hiromu a final pat on the back before sliding her arm off his shoulder. "So about this reiatsu."

Hisagi nodded, indicating for her to continue.

"Can it be concealed?"

"Unfortunately not." Before Sae could demand what the fuck he meant by that, he said, "At least not exactly."

"So there are ways."

"To mitigate the amount exuding from the body, yes. Reiatsu in large amounts can be damaging to those with little to no spiritual pressure. When Shinigami with high levels of reiatsu enter this world, they're required to have their reiatsu restricted to safer levels. I have one placed on me, for instance. Here." Hisagi loosened his shirt collar and peeled it apart to reveal the skin below his collarbone. A small black tattoo was inked there. "This is my squadron's seal. If I want to have it removed, I'd have to get permission from Sei—um—from headquarters. Emergencies only." He released his collar, brushed the creases out of the fabric. "But the seal only reduces the amount of reiatsu my body radiates. It doesn't eliminate it, and it doesn't hide it from Hollows, which is what I assume you want for your brother."

So there was nothing that they could do, Sae wanted to say, scathingly, and angrily, because she thought they were finally going to get somewhere with this miserable situation. A way out.

Wait a minute. What Hisagi said didn't make sense. Because Hiromu _did_ know how to hide his reiatsu. It was what he did when he concentrated, held his breath and _held back._ That change in the air that Sae could only feel instinctively every time Hiromu did that, it was his reiatsu being sucked back into his body. It had to be. Sure, doing it was extremely strenuous on him, and he could only hold it for minutes at a time, but he _could_ do it, and he was fucking kid. Was Hisagi saying that Shinigami had no way of replicating what a ten year old human boy learned through pure instinct? Either that or he was lying or he didn't know. And if it was because he was lying, then—shit, Sae didn't know.

"Hijibe san? Are you okay?"

"Yeah, sorry. I was just thinking. A little disappointed is all. I guess a quick and easy solution was kind of too much to hope for."

"Quick and easy, maybe, but I don't think a solution is out of the question. You'll have to take a lot of what I say with a grain of salt. I'm not as knowledgeable when it comes to Shinigami resources as many of my comrades. We have a research division that usually handles those things. But our resources are advanced. If I search around, I'm sure there'll be something we can use, either to hide you and Hiromu's presence from Hollows protect you from them if they do come."

"And you think that you'd be allowed to use those resources?" Sae asked skeptically. "On some random little humans like us?"

"Protecting souls are our duties as Shinigami. That is what all our forces and our technologies are for." Then his voice dropped lower, into a murmur. "Although I don't think you're wrong to be suspicious. May I speak with you alone, Hijibe san?" As he spoke to Sae, he turned to Hiromu, his expression apologetic. "I'm sorry, Hiromu. There are somethings I'd rather you not hear, at least not yet."

Hiromu looked up at Sae for permissions to speak. She shrugged, and he said shyly, "Can I ask Sae about it later?"

"Sure. If she gives it a pass."

"Yeah. _If_ I give it a pass." Sae stood up and grabbed her cap and a pack of cigarettes off the bedside table. Hisagi stood up with her. "Go read your books, kid. I doubt we'll take too long."

There wasn't much privacy to be had in a motel room, unless they wanted to talk in the bathroom. So they ducked into the back alley again and hoisted themselves onto the wall that Hisagi had climbed over earlier, sitting so they faced the motel, so they could see if anyone was nearby or not. The sun was a white hole in the sky, and the heat was growing harsh. Sae had to adjust her cap to block out the glare. Hisagi didn't even seem to notice it. Absentmindedly, Sae trailed her eyes down Hisagi's neck and arms, which gleamed with sweat. She liked her men like this, all sinew and muscles, with powerful shoulders and a tight torso. If Hisagi noticed her gaze, he didn't act like he did. Sae shook a cigarette free from her pack and offered it to Hisagi.

"No thank you."

"Suit yourself." She lit up, pocketed the pack, then leaned over, propped her elbows on her knees, and waited.

"I mentioned earlier that souls with high spiritual pressure can affect other souls adversely. This includes a variety of things: stunning, to knocking out, to even something simple like intimidation, lowering morale. The Shinigami with the highest reiatsu out of us can even kill humans if they aren't careful. Hence the limiters."

"Shit," said Sae. "'Sounds—terrible."

"Hiromu doesn't approach that level at all, so that was just an example. But his reiatsu level is still incredibly high. He must have affected people around him somehow. I wanted to ask if you've noticed any of the symptoms I just listed, or if you've experienced them yourself in the past."

Sae blew out a stream of smoke, watching it disperse before she replied. "If I feel any different when I'm not around Hiromu, I wouldn't know. We're never separated. Never have been. But other than that, I think I know what you're talking about. Our parents, I mean."

Hisagi remained silent, to let her continue, but she detected a small tensing of his shoulders, the metal clinking of his chains.

"They died about a month or two after Hiromu was born. First mask, uh, hollow I ever saw. Now that I think about it, they weren't _only_ killed that night, weren't they? Their souls were eaten. I was wondering why the asshole didn't chase after us once it was finished with them. He must've already eaten his share."

"I'm sorry," Hisagi said in a quiet voice.

"Yeah well, they weren't spiritual or anything. They got what they were expecting, so there is that. But back to the point. During the time when they were alive, and after Hiromu was born, they were always very—sleepy. Weak. I was fifteen at the time. Very nasty kid. You could kick her if you met her on the streets and it'd be a goddamn public service. So I wasn't around my parents much when Hiromu was born. But I knew them well enough to think how weird it was. My parents were healthy people. Those annoying morning people kind of people. You know the type. Soon as Hiromu was born, that all went to shit. They were falling asleep mid-conversations, mid-eating,behind the _car_ _wheels._ It was insane. They went to all kinds of doctors and psychologists. I had it too for a while, until it stopped. Never thought too much about it until I began realizing there was something weird going on with Hiromu. After that, it was just speculation, no concrete conclusions. But I think what're you talking about is it. It sounds right."

The time must be around noon. From where they sat, they could see the street that the alley led to begin to fill with people in their work clothes, the dim hum of crowds growing louder. Hisagi didn't speak for minutes, maybe processing what she'd just said, maybe soaking in the sun. Sae used the silence to light another cigarette, then offer the pack to him again. He shook his head.

"There's something I want to tell you, Hijibe san."

"I'm not stopping you."

"I'm not sure you'd appreciate it."

"You never know. I might appreciate it very much."

Hisagi didn't smile like she thought he would, which told Sae what he wanted to say was not going to be something she'd appreciate at all.

"I've actually been tracking you and your brother for some time now. Specifically I was tracking your brother's reiatsu. It was an assignment I was given. His reiatsu tended to aggravate Hollow activity in areas he stays in. It was causing some difficulty for the Shinigami assigned to handle them."

Well, there it was at last. The Motive. Sae flicked the ash off the butt of her stick. "And?"

"I was only ordered to identify the source of the disruptive reiatsu, then report back. Then I'll be told how to proceed on the matter, and how to take care of your brother's situation. I'm sure we'll be able to come up with some sort of a solution."

"That'd be nice if you could," Sae replied.

"I'm sorry."

"Stop apologizing so much. You gotta do what you gotta do."

He kept his head facing forward to avoid her eyes. "I didn't want you to think I want to help you only because I'm obligated to."

"I'd trust you more if you did. Obligation and duty's something you answer to. I can get that. Charity's too whimsical. You'd abandoned it the second you grow bored. No, I'm glad you told me. Makes me feel better." She stamped her cigarette out. It was getting too hot to smoke. "You send your report yet?"

"I'll be returning today to do so. Hopefully it won't take long. I'd rather not leave you and your brother unsupervised more than what's necessary. And for that, I do have something that may be able to help."

* * *

Sae removed her sneakers before slowly placing a foot onto the polished wood floor of Hisagi's apartment—a _safe_ _house_ , he called it. She clicked the door shut behind her. Hisagi had disappeared into one of the rooms, with Hiromu trailing after him like a little add-on tail. Cute, though he'd better not forget whose kid brother he was. As Sae dropped the duffel bag onto the ground, Hiromu's laughter intermixed with Hisagi's voice spilled down the hallway.

Hisagi reappeared with an armful of futon and comforters. Hiromu padded after him, holding the pillowcases.

"I only have the futon I was using," he apologized. "I hope you don't mind sharing with Hiromu."

Once he'd dumped the futon and sheets into the washing machine, Hisagi called Sae over and tapped one of the structural poles embedded into the corner of the house. Plastered on it was a yellow-brown slip of paper inked with kanji characters that Sae didn't recognize.

"This is a talisman with a binding kido spell on it. It converts the binding kido into a barrier that rejects Hollow from the space it's protecting, which is this entire apartment. I specialize in binding kido, so I'm fairly confident in its durability." He tapped the talisman with his index finger, each tap a hollow _thunk_ against the wood frame. "More importantly, there is a communication line attached to the talisman itself. Between Shinigami, it can be used to call reinforcements, in the event that that the current forces are insufficient to deal with the threat. But for you, it's simply act as an alarm. Should a Hollow attack the apartment, I'll be alerted in immediately. In most circumstances, the seal should hold until I arrive."

"Hiromu, are you hearing this?" Sae said without looking away from the talisman. "Because I'm remembering jackshit."

"Uh huh. I'm listening."

"Unfortunately, there's not much I could do for you if you leave the apartment. I'll be back in a couple days, so it'd be best if you didn't leave until then. There's plenty of food in the fridge. Until then, settle in however you like."

"Are you leaving soon?"

"As soon as I put my gigai away. I'll be storing it in the closet, on the right side. If you want to keep any clothes in there, just shove all my clothes next to the gigai. There should be enough room."

The washing machine buzzed, indicating the end of the cycle. Hiromu trotted off to dump the load into the dryer, with Sae following him. As Hiromu began stuffing the wet futon into the dryer, Sae tapped him on the shoulder and leaned down so she wouldn't have to raise her voice.

"You mind giving me a few seconds with Hisagi alone?"

"Can you tell me when he leaves? I want to say bye."

Sae clapped him on the back. "Sure thing, kid."

When Sae returned to the bedroom, Hisagi was back in his Shinigami kimono. He'd had exited his gigai, which he was stuffing unceremoniously into the closet. Sae crossed her arms and leaned her shoulder against the doorframe as she watched him work. It was kind of a funny sight, like he'd just killed his twin brother and was trying to hide the evidence. The kicker was the gigai kept falling out every time Hisagi was about to slide the door shut, forcing him to shove it in again. He caught Sae's raised eyebrows and grinned embarrassedly himself before slamming the door shut one final time.

"I know how it looks."

"Then I won't comment."

Didn't look like he was taking any suitcases with him. All he had on him was his sword, which he unsheathed after taking a step back from Sae, holding the tip downward and the edge away from her.

"I'll be sure my report gets to my captain as soon as possible."

"That'd be great, thanks."

Letting the silence hang in the air, Sae wanted to say something else, but it was nothing that needed to be said, just that she wanted to say it. Because honest to god, she was desperate. She didn't want Hisagi out of her sight, because if he disappeared—if they never saw him again, then who knew when was the next time they saw a Shinigami, let alone ask them for help? Nothing Hisagi did so far warranted that line of thought, but she didn't know.

"Listen," said Sae, before she could agitate herself further. "About this whole thing, with figuring out Hiromu's problem."

Hisagi gave a small nod, letting her continue without speaking. She didn't know how to continue, so instead she walked up to him and grabbed him by the shoulders, clutching them so tightly that the muscles under her grip tensed.

"Just _do_ something for him. I don't care what it is, or—or what kind of shit you have to pull to get past that red tape and—fuck, fuck I'm probably sounding like I don't give a shit the kind of trouble that'd give you, but you know what?" She gave his shoulders an angry shake, her knuckles growing white from how badly she clutching them. "Maybe I _don't_ give a fuck about anything else. This is the rest of my little brother's life we're talking about! Like, sure he looks happy and nice and everything, and that's because he's a real nice kid, and no kid gets what they're missing out in life. But the way he has it, his only choices in the future is dying young or growing smarter and waking up every day thinking how bad he has it, and how it'll never get better no matter what he does, or what I do. I don't want him to have that! It's not fair, it's not _fair_ ," she repeated furiously. She wanted to say it again, make Hisagi really understand even though probably couldn't no matter what she did. Then she noticed her nails digging into Hisagi's shoulders. Didn't break skin, but watching it made her realize what she was doing. She let go quickly and stepped back, keeping her head low. "Sorry." She rubbed her eyes with her thumb and index finger, then gave her head a shake. "Sorry."

"Don't be." Hisagi allowed her a moment to recover. She needed it. The disgust and humiliation she felt for letting that outburst happen was so harsh it was almost paralyzing. Then Hisagi reached over, his hand hovering uncertainly before settling on her forearm. "I'll do whatever I can, for the both of you."

"Worry about him first."

"He won't be happy if you aren't."

"He'll live. Not sure if you noticed, but I'm not what you'd call sister-of-the-year material. The faster I become unnecessary, the better. I mean, if you could help the both of us, I'm not going to complain, but I don't know. I don't want to be too greedy. Doesn't ever work out."

"You really think that?"

"Didn't they teach that in Shinigami School? Greed is bad."

Ignoring that, Hisagi said "You're an amazing person, and you're an amazing sister, and I don't know what deficiency you think you have, but it's nothing compared to the kind of sacrifices you made for Hiromu. You can't—" He paused, struggling to get his words out, as if he was agitated. "You can't think otherwise. It's too harsh on yourself."

He said that with a straight face. He actually did. It was nice of him, and Sae didn't know how to respond. "Thanks."

"Hijibe san—"

"Hiromu wanted to say bye before you left, by the way. Mind obliging him?"

Hisagi stared at her. She could catch something forlorn in his expression, but it was smoothed away by the time his head turned towards the doorway. "Is he still in the laundry room?"

"Should be."

"Alright." His hand left her arm, a chill rushing through the vacant skin, where his palm had been. He left the room, with Sae listening to the clop of his wooden sandals, then the murmur of voices from across the hall.


End file.
